NRL Expansion. Ideas and opinions.

[MugaB]

So.... The PNG set up is basically divided into 4 conferences. The southern district just recently had a 9s tournament.
76 mens teams participated over the weekend.
Yes.... 76.

76 x 9, im sure player depth shouldn't be a problem with the 684 papuans, if we only need 60 more good players for 2 expansion teams, hell might aswell go the 1995 ARL route and make 4 expansion teams, just make sure PNG Hunters is one of them.

 

[T-Boon]

Short of PNG having a team in the NRL (which does seem unrealistic at this point) there has to be numerous ways the NRL and the code could be helping PNG rugby league become as great as it can be.

 

[TheRam]

Short of PNG having a team in the NRL (which does seem unrealistic at this point) there has to be numerous ways the NRL and the code could be helping PNG rugby league become as great as it can be.

Good luck with that. They're useless.

 

[T-Boon]

Good luck with that. They're useless.

That's because of the clubs who run the code. They need to convince the clubs that there is money/value in putting effort into PNG.

 

[TheRam]

That's because of the clubs who run the code. They need to convince the clubs that their is money/value in putting effort into PNG.

You are aware of all the self interest that exists in the code, in particular the clubs right?

The only chance RL has is if one day we get a strong and capable leader of the quality of John Quayle. We need someone that has the charisma and talent to be able to persuade and kick heads when appropriate to lead us out of this funk and to regain the ascendancy over other sports like AFL.

Someone like Trump would be fantastic. Love him or hate him he get stuff done.

 

[T-Boon]

I wonder if the NRL is putting any effort into wining and dining the PNG gold mine people.

 

[MugaB]

Good luck with that. They're useless.

You meant the NRL....... yes correct
I got confused

 

[flippikat]

The more I think about it, the more I'm tempted to favour a "1995 V2.0" expansion, and just damn well add Brisbane 2, Perth, NZ 2 & Adelaide in one go, then just let Sydney sort itself out.

If mergers/relocations/dropping down to NSW Cup is needed, cool - manage it if/when it happens.

 

[MrE_Assassin]

The more I think about it, the more I'm tempted to favour a "1995 V2.0" expansion, and just damn well add Brisbane 2, Perth, NZ 2 & Adelaide in one go, then just let Sydney sort itself out.

If mergers/relocations/dropping down to NSW Cup is needed, cool - manage it if/when it happens.

Sounds good in theory but the risk they run is that the new clubs don't get the traction they thought they'd get and the wasted $52mil (4x $13m grants) each year that they are alive in the comp and not attracting anything new or not making a profit. A move like that could almost certainly kill the entire sport.

I think a measured approach is necessary, but don't belive one team at a time every few years is the way to do it either. Byes are shit. I think it needs to be 2 new teams. Consolidate 1 established market (Brisbane/NZ) whislt introducing a new market (WA, SA). In the first one you know you have fans of the game and are giving them a new product to support (a bit safer), and the other is a brand new market that you can get a large initial raft of supporters (Risk vs Reward). Even if WA/SA started off with 25-30K of support at a stadium and then tapered off to about 10-15K, thats still 15K you didn't previously have and is still on par with most Sydney based attendances.

Plus you're getting an added game of content in each week, a game every week in QLD/NZ and a new market to expose the product to (WA/SA)

 

[tri_colours]

Sounds good in theory but the risk they run is that the new clubs don't get the traction they thought they'd get and the wasted $52mil (4x $13m grants) each year that they are alive in the comp and not attracting anything new or not making a profit. A move like that could almost certainly kill the entire sport.

I think a measured approach is necessary, but don't belive one team at a time every few years is the way to do it either. Byes are shit. I think it needs to be 2 new teams. Consolidate 1 established market (Brisbane/NZ) whislt introducing a new market (WA, SA). In the first one you know you have fans of the game and are giving them a new product to support (a bit safer), and the other is a brand new market that you can get a large initial raft of supporters (Risk vs Reward). Even if WA/SA started off with 25-30K of support at a stadium and then tapered off to about 10-15K, thats still 15K you didn't previously have and is still on par with most Sydney based attendances.

Plus you're getting an added game of content in each week, a game every week in QLD/NZ and a new market to expose the product to (WA/SA)

If it was just content then Union and A-League would be raking in the big bucks like us!

 

[MrE_Assassin]

If it was just content then Union and A-League would be raking in the big bucks like us!

Oh, absolutely! The content needs to be quality as well. In a digital age most things are based on content and getting the best bang for buck. Fans aren’t going to come along or stream the games if the content isn’t of a good quality. This is where adding 4 teams straight up might also compromise the quality of the competition.

Let’s say though that they go with 17 teams, that’s approximately 7-15k people not at a game each week that you could have attending if you have an extra game. Why would anyone want that support sitting at home for the week?

Then there’s the length of the competition. If it stays as it is then that means a few teams are going to get a couple of byes in the year and some only have one. This could advantage some teams if they’re getting comp points for doing nothing.... which in recent years can mean the difference between making finals or not. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t feel a little cheated if your team was on the fringe of the 8 and were bumped out by a team that had a bye for the last round.

 

[MugaB]

Oh, absolutely! The content needs to be quality as well. In a digital age most things are based on content and getting the best bang for buck. Fans aren’t going to come along or stream the games if the content isn’t of a good quality. This is where adding 4 teams straight up might also compromise the quality of the competition.

Let’s say though that they go with 17 teams, that’s approximately 7-15k people not at a game each week that you could have attending if you have an extra game. Why would anyone want that support sitting at home for the week?

Then there’s the length of the competition. If it stays as it is then that means a few teams are going to get a couple of byes in the year and some only have one. This could advantage some teams if they’re getting comp points for doing nothing.... which in recent years can mean the difference between making finals or not. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t feel a little cheated if your team was on the fringe of the 8 and were bumped out by a team that had a bye for the last round.

Im sure the Roosters and Melbourne get those 2 byes each, maybe it should fall to the previous bottom 4 teams, but realistically a few teams will receive a bye all in the same week, hence why there is that ye old origin time split round, and points will even out, even if they don't receive an actual week off the bye points will still be awarded.

What a headache, easier to just add CC or Perth FFS

 

[tri_colours]

Oh, absolutely! The content needs to be quality as well. In a digital age most things are based on content and getting the best bang for buck. Fans aren’t going to come along or stream the games if the content isn’t of a good quality. This is where adding 4 teams straight up might also compromise the quality of the competition.

Let’s say though that they go with 17 teams, that’s approximately 7-15k people not at a game each week that you could have attending if you have an extra game. Why would anyone want that support sitting at home for the week?

Then there’s the length of the competition. If it stays as it is then that means a few teams are going to get a couple of byes in the year and some only have one. This could advantage some teams if they’re getting comp points for doing nothing.... which in recent years can mean the difference between making finals or not. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t feel a little cheated if your team was on the fringe of the 8 and were bumped out by a team that had a bye for the last round.

I take your point. But how is it that any different to some teams playing Melbourne twice while others play Gold Coast twice.

 

[ed612313]

There is absolutely no room for a team in adelaide. It just will not work. Ive lived in adelaide and visit often. It wont work.
The others all have merits....

 

[ed612313]

Sorry. Looking at the vote... Darwin is also a joke. Even more so than adelaide

 

[The Great Dane]

There is absolutely no room for a team in adelaide. It just will not work. Ive lived in adelaide and visit often. It wont work.
The others all have merits....

All I have to say to that is that it definitely won't work if we never try, and that people have said the same thing about every expansion team in every sport, and yet more often than not the clubs that definitely wouldn't work end up being great successes so long as sacrifices are made to make them so.

If the NRL is ever going to meet it's full potential then it needs a presence in Adelaide, and the only way it's ever going to get a presence in Adelaide is if it bites the bullet and puts a team there, and then bankrolls it until it's successful.

It's no different than the Storm or the Swans in the AFL, it has to happen and the only way it's going to happen is if the NRL forces it to happen.

 

[ed612313]

Yes it is different. Sydney and melbourne are cities. Adelaide is a large country town/small city.
People in adelaide live in a bigger bubble than melbourne.
They literally think afl players are the best athletes in the world.
Why focus on a place with a population of 1 million that has no interest in league in comparison to the 8 million that are obsessed with league in PNG.
Coaching is what is holding PNG back. Put a few solid coaches in PNG and in a few years theyd have some seriously good 1st graders running around. Juniors would start flowing through.
As for Adelaide? There focus is locked on the cricket/afl ground, the casino, and the hospital. Seriously... f**k adelaide.

 

[MrE_Assassin]

I take your point. But how is it that any different to some teams playing Melbourne twice while others play Gold Coast twice.

It’s different in that any team on their day can win or lose. I’d rather have my team have to face a top 8 team twice in the year with a possibility of winning (albeit slim) rather than just gifting the 2 points to the team through a bye. I’d rather there be a game and a chance than nothing at all.

The NRL already struggles to come up with a decent division of draw when you include all the rounds they must have (Anzac, retro/rivalry round, etc) without the added pressure of an odd number of teams and byes every week.

 

[The Great Dane]

Yes it is different. Sydney and melbourne are cities. Adelaide is a large country town/small city.
People in adelaide live in a bigger bubble than melbourne.
They literally think afl players are the best athletes in the world.
Why focus on a place with a population of 1 million that has no interest in league in comparison to the 8 million that are obsessed with league in PNG.
Coaching is what is holding PNG back. Put a few solid coaches in PNG and in a few years theyd have some seriously good 1st graders running around. Juniors would start flowing through.
As for Adelaide? There focus is locked on the cricket/afl ground, the casino, and the hospital. Seriously... f**k adelaide.

There's no point in expanding if there's no money in it, because if it's not independently sustainable then sooner or later the club is going to fall over, and if the club falls over then all you have achieved is a waste of every bodies time and money.

So no matter how much they might deserve a team and how obsessed PNG is with RL, the reality is that, on average, they can't afford the product, and because of that placing a club in PNG makes no sense from the NRL's perspective.

Despite your obvious personal bias against Adelaide, the fact of the matter is that in their city (BTW by every metric it's a city and not a large country town) of 1.4 million, people have more disposable income on average, there are almost certainly more valuable sponsorship and corporate opportunities, and it is more valuable to local broadcasters than the whole 8.2 million population of PNG put together, and in reality an NRL team in PNG would be based in and mainly reliant on Port Moresby as it's target market.

So in other words Adelaide can afford the product and it's inevitable that they'll get a team, and by rights they should get a team long before quite a few other places that are mooted for expansion.

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

There's no point in expanding if there's no money in it, because if it's not independently sustainable then sooner or later the club is going to fall over, and if the club falls over then all you have achieved is a waste of every bodies time and money.

So no matter how much they might deserve a team and how obsessed PNG is with RL, the reality is that, on average, they can't afford the product, and because of that placing a club in PNG makes no sense from the NRL's perspective.

Despite your obvious personal bias against Adelaide, the fact of the matter is that in their city (BTW by every metric it's a city and not a large country town) of 1.4 million, people have more disposable income on average, there are almost certainly more valuable sponsorship and corporate opportunities, and it is more valuable to local broadcasters than the whole 8.2 million population of PNG put together, and in reality an NRL team in PNG would be based in and mainly reliant on Port Moresby as it's target market.

So in other words Adelaide can afford the product and it's inevitable that they'll get a team, and by rights they should get a team long before quite a few other places that are mooted for expansion.

The Rams averaged over 15k crowds in their first season back in 97. Rushed in for Super League, no history of RL, played at an enormous oval unfriendly to spectators and with little support.

The Adelaide I live in now is a different city. Still smaller than the other capitals by comparison but loads of expats like me who’ve moved over.
There’s always gonna be AFL bias here and in the likes of Victoria and WA. Geez, it’s even in Sydney some places you go...

It really is a festival and events city that fill the streets, pubs and parks whenever something is on. I highly doubt they’ll come here next but if they did, as long as they structured it right, and made their games a true event, it wouldn’t be the disaster some others might think.